The game of darts has had its popularity enhanced by the relatively recent development of "safe" darts that cooperate with a target that is provided with openings that receive blunt tips of the "safe" darts. The addition of automatic scoring to these "safe" dart and target arrangements have attracted commercial ventures such as bars, taverns and game arcades to install such equipment. The Jones U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,251 is typical of the state of the art. The dart games of the Jones patented type are particularly well suited for modification into becoming a coin operated game. The automatic scoring has made these dart games especially popular in the business environments hereinbefore noted. A frequent lament of players is that the commercially available dart game with its automatic costly and complex scoring mechanisms is too expensive for purchase and use at home. The invention to be described hereinafter distinguishes over the patent of Jones by providing an inexpensive multiple player "safe" dart and target game which is provided with a multiple player score keeping apparatus and a novel bullseye deflection detection and bullseye indication mechanism.
Another example of a projectile receiving target having a bullseye which when struck automatically provides a score for the player is shown in the B. E. Smolen et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,992,003. The Smolen et al patent, however, does not provide a compact self contained dart game with score keeping apparatus involving a single moving part for each players score computation.
The Smolen patent has multiple moving parts including linkages and levers whereas the score keeping apparatus of applicants invention has but a single moving part for each players score keeping apparatus.